SPORTS

Skyhawk Football |Justin Rascati - Wide Receivers

Justin Rascati, who has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Weber State University, has joined the University of Tennessee at Martin football coaching staff in March 2014. Rascati will coach the running backs at UT Martin.

Rascati guided the quarterbacks since the spring of 2012 under head coach Jody Sears at Weber State, a Football Championship Subdivision school located in Ogden, Utah.

Last season, Rascati oversaw true freshman Austin Chipoletti, who threw for 1,650 yards and eight touchdowns at Weber State. Rascati also coached Mike Hoke, who passed for 2,065 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Wildcats as a senior in 2012.

Rascati enjoyed a remarkable collegiate playing career at quarterback. He began his collegiate career at Louisville, where he played for head coach John L. Smith before transferring to James Madison.

As a senior, Rascati helped guide James Madison to a 13-2 overall record and the program’s first and only FCS national championship in 2004. That season, he completed 65.4 percent of his passes while tallying 2,045 passing yards and 14 touchdowns against only five interceptions. He also added 375 rushing yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns on the ground.

In the Dukes’ 31-21 win over Montana in the 2004 national championship game played in Chattanooga, Tenn., Rascati completed 72.2 percent of his pass attempts for 132 yards to go along with 57 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. His second touchdown of the night extended James Madison’s lead to 10 points with eight minutes to go and was the final scoring play of the contest.

After graduating from James Madison in 2005, Rascati earned tryouts with the NFL’s Chicago Bears and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes before playing two seasons in the Arena Football League. He then served as offensive coordinator at Kentucky Country Day School in Louisville from 2010-11 before joining the Weber State coaching staff.

A native of Gainesville, Fla., Rascati enjoyed a remarkable prep career at Buchholz High School. He leapfrogged former Washington Redskins and University of Florida signal caller Doug Johnson as Buchholz’s all-time leader in career passing yards (5,033) and touchdown passes (45). During his senior season, he led the team to a 12-1 record after tallying 2,223 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes while racking up Gainesville Sun 2001 Class 3A-5A Player of the Year accolades.